Auckland Horticultural Council to be kicked out for new Western Springs recycling centre

Friday, 2 August 2019

The protest over the Ihumātao land in Auckland is amping up.

A society of gardeners is refusing to move from its headquarters to make way for a new community recycling centre.

Auckland Horticultural Council member Graham Milne said he would be 'lying on the floor' if Auckland Council came to claim the property, despite the society’s lease running out on July 31.

'If they try to make us move, they'll have another Ihumātao on their hands,' he said, referring to a long-running land dispute in south Auckland.

Horticultural Council members Graham Milne and Julie Lloyd do not want their headquarters turned into a recycling centre by Auckland Council.

The society has used the building, which was formerly the Chamberlain Park clubhouse, as its headquarters since 1986.

In 2015 Auckland Council decided it wanted to turn the building into a community recycling facility where residents can drop off unwanted materials with the aim of reducing waste.

The council has used the building, which used to be the old Chamberlain Park clubhouse, as its headquarters since 1986.

Albert-Eden Local Board chairman Peter Haynes said the planned recycling centre would have a focus on educating people about sustainability.

'We consulted with the public who are all for it and 18 months of research determined this was the best location for it,' he said.

The alternative building the council has offered does not have rooms large enough to host garden shows, Horticultural Council member Graham Milne says.

Haynes said the Horticultural Council had been offered rooms in the Western Springs Garden Community Hall to use as a compromise.

'We’ve refurbished what used to be the kitchen and the administration at a cost of around $400,000. It’s very similar to what they’ve currently been using,' he said.

'But they want us to essentially gift them one of the community halls.'

If the council takes the building it will spell the end of the society, Horticultural Council president Julie Lloyd says.

Horticultural Council president Julie Lloyd said the society needed a hall to host meetings and garden shows.

'We have 50 garden clubs associated with us and around 1500 people come through every month,' she said.

'The rooms that have been offered are just not big enough for our clubs. If we don’t get the hall I think it will be the end of the Horticultural Council.'

Haynes said it may be possible for the society to spend a little longer at its current site as council officers have not yet lodged the resource consent needed for the recycling centre.

Lloyd said the society was happy to move provided it 'wouldn’t be worse off'.

Both parties are currently in negotiations and hope to avoid the matter going to court.